


Out There/In Here

by eyesasblackasthevoid



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F, Fluff, One Shot, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Short One Shot, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, shiara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 12:11:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7757389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyesasblackasthevoid/pseuds/eyesasblackasthevoid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard convinces Liara to take a break from work and keep her company while she draws.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out There/In Here

Liara knocked on Shepard’s door several times, a datapad in-hand. When her taps granted no response she was about to leave because maybe, by some miracle, Valerie was actually getting some rest. But then came her voice, “The door is always open for you, Liara. You should know that by now.” 

How did she always know it was her?

As she walked in, the scene in the room wasn’t what she’d ever expect of the commander. Papers and art supplies of several different medias were strewn all around the cabin, and there was Shepard in the middle of it all, sitting on her bed hunched over a sketchbook. Countless crumpled up papers surrounded her, almost completely camouflaging the bedspread beneath.

“What is all this?”

Valerie spoke without looking up from her work. “It’s called a hobby, Liara. Can’t imagine the Shadow Broker has much time for such things.” 

“I didn’t know you drew.”

“I hadn’t in a long time. I picked it back up when the Alliance grounded the Normandy. I was restless and it gave me something to do. Reminded me of how much I enjoy art. I um…I bought this stuff on the Citadel last time we docked.” 

Liara could hear the exhaustion in her voice. Valerie put on a brave face, a convincing mask out there, but in here, it cracked just the same as she was beneath all this pressure. This war needed to end. 

“Oh, well, there’s some information one of my agents sent me, I’d like your second opinion if it’s worth sending to the Crucible engineers.”

Liara held out the datapad to her but she just looked at it blankly for a moment then met her eyes with a sigh, “I can’t. I just……I need to not think about any of that for a couple hours. That’s why I came up here to get away from the war for a bit.”

She understood that. So much depended on Shepard’s success, so much weight on her shoulders. Out there people of all species are dying and droves, and in here she must accept that there’s only so much that she can do to help them. She knows how hard this is for her to accept to that you can’t save everyone. Liara wouldn’t argue that Shepard deserved a bit of time to herself, but was sure it’d be better if she got right back to work, doing whatever she could. 

“Alright. I’ll leave you be, then.”

“Wait, Liara, don’t go.” She pleaded as she caught her arm, “Stay with me awhile. I’m sure you could use a break from all this too.” 

“Shepard-” She started, but Valerie didn’t let her get any further. 

“Please, just take ten minutes and sit here with me. I’m not saying you have to create a masterpiece, just….draw….It calms me down, maybe you’ll find some momentary scrap of peace in it too. Take a quick break, if not for yourself, for me.” 

“Alright,” Liara agreed in that trademark tone she uses when she doesn’t want to argue. She set the pad down on the table and went to take a seat beside Shepard but something caught her eye. 

She knelt down and retrieved a single drawing from where it had ended up on the floor. It was far more detailed than the other sketches all about the room, but that wasn’t the only reason it had stuck out to her. She recognized her own features on the paper as if it were a mirror. 

“Is this me?” She asked after she’d spent a minute or so examining the portrait. 

Valerie coughed and gave an awkward chuckle as she snatched the paper from her hands and immediately folded it over. “It doesn’t really do you justice, does it? I’m not the greatest and I drew from memory. I had no reference. I think the photo I used to have of you in here got thrown out or something when the Alliance dry-docked the ship. And I…..I..” 

Liara couldn’t help but smile, Valerie was doing that thing that she loved. With a blush to her cheeks she continued to ramble in an awkward fashion one wouldn’t expect from such an accomplished soldier. Out there, fighting, she was a stone, unfeeling and immovable. That wasn’t that case in here, alone with Liara is nearly the only place where she allows herself to be, well, herself — and she completely melts when she’s with her. 

“I think it’s sweet,” Liara finally said after letting Shepard stumble aimlessly with her words long enough.

“Sweet, huh?”

“You said you do this to calm down. Thinking of me, drawing me, that calms you down?”

Valerie had regained her composure now, “Of course. You’ve no idea what you mean to me.” 

Liara took the drawing of herself back out of Shepard’s hands and unfolded it. The horizontal crease now across the center of the page didn’t take away from the portrait itself at all. She studied its detail more and said, “I think I might have a theory as to how much, though.”

“Of course you do. What kind of doctor would you be if you never had any theories? Is this one you need to test out?”

Leaning down, she pressed her lips to Valerie’s. And it didn’t take long for Shepard’s hands find their way around Liara’s waist, pulling her down on to her lap and deepening the kiss. The kind of soft kiss that makes “out there” an immeasurable span of light years away. For the moment only “in here” exists. A single room on a single ship floating out among a sea of stars. 

“Thank you, Shepard,” Liara whispered, breaking the gentle silence of their embrace as she rested her forehead against Valerie’s. 

“For what?”

“For a momentary scrap of peace.”


End file.
